Apollo 18 : Movie Review


Someone, please! Stop the found footage film before it kills entertainment and the horror film again... and this time, for good. From The Last Exorcism to Paranormal Activity, the recent rash of post-Blair Witch wannabes just don't get the basic cinematic needs of the increasingly sloppy subgenre. Perhaps primary among these is the concept of a reasonable threat. Having noises go bump in the night or a momentary glimpse of a ghostly figure doesn't generate suspense, just shock - and even then, the effect is succinct. It doesn't linger. You also need a logical reason for a camera to be constantly on. No one, not even the most dedicated reporter or frightened friend will keep the lens trained on a superbeast as it runs ramshackle over downtown Manhattan.

In the new, nauseatingly bad Apollo 18, we get a hopelessly inept POV presentation that's part irritating urban legend, part common conspiracy theory, and all awful. The notion that NASA has been pulling our chain over the entire space program is not new. There are still people who do not believe that man ever set foot on the moon. In this case, the supposedly canceled 18th mission to our interstellar neighbor was not put off at all. Instead, the material gathered was held back and classified "Top Secret"...which doesn't stop some fictional group of hackers (or whatever) from gathering the reels and hastily editing together an "explanation" as to what really happened back in 1974.

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Author : Bill Gibron